Hite and the German settlers remained in Kingston, New York until 1715. By 1717, records indicate that he had settled on the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania. Hite enjoyed a prosperous life in Pennsylvania, establishing a mill in 1720 that came to be known as Pennypacker's Mills. After increasingly menacing Indian activity in Pennsylvania, Hite and other community leaders petitioned Governor Gordon for protection against the Indians. After his petition was ignored by the Governor, Hite sold his Pennsylvania holdings in 1730 and traveled to the unsettled Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
In 1731, Hite bought forty thousand acres of land from John Van Meter that came to be known as "Hite's Grant". In October of that year, Hite teamed up with Robert McKoy (McCoy/McKay) and obtained another one hundred thousand acres from Virginia Governor Gooch. In the spring of 1731, Hite settled the area of what is now Shepherdstown, West Virginia, naming it New Mechlenburg. Hite's eldest son, John, traveled further south down the Potomac river and settled on the Opequon Creed, calling his holdings Springdale. By the June of 1734, the council of Virginia declared that Jost Hite had settled his required number of families and was assigned the patents for his land, leading some to declare that he was the first white settler in the Shenandoah Valley (this has later been disproved as it has been documented that Adam Miller settled in the Valley as early as 1726 or 1727.)
In 1736, legal troubles began. Lord Fairfax arrived from England that same year to settle on his lands granted to him on Virginia's Northern Neck. Some of this land was within the boundary of Hite's land which has not been patented. Fairfax gave his word that the lands would be given to Hite but later reneged on his promise. This led to petitions and a legal battle that lasted for fifty years and was not resolved until both complainants had died. In the end, the decision was in Hite's favor.
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Jeannine Dugan's Colonial United States topic, please visit the Discussions page.